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On a recent night at Duchess, the in-house restaurant at the newly opened Nobleman Hotel in the booming South Main area, celebrity chef Casey Thompson makes her way from the kitchen to the dining room to the bar area to the lobby — and back again. It’s opening week of one of the city’s most high-profile restaurants, and Thompson, who has lent her name and culinary talents to the project, has people to meet, hands to shake, pictures to pose for — and, of course, food to cook.
Clearly exhausted, she pauses for a moment to tell some guests their food may be coming out slow. “It’s just me cooking tonight,” she says. “I had to give my sous-chef the night off. He’s been here nonstop, open to close. He’s been a real lifesaver.”
For the past 16 years, Marcus Kopplin has been saving restaurants from disastrous service, one plate and one calm nerve at a time. Starting out as a server and prep cook at Chuy’s, he has wound his way through some of the city’s most celebrated restaurants, sharpening his skills at restaurants like Shinjuku Station and Clay Pigeon, his skill and composure a welcome respite from the chaos that ensues in most kitchens.
This is exactly why Kopplin, a “chef’s chef” with a reputation for unwavering grace under pressure, was the chef Thompson called upon when she was putting together her small staff at Duchess.
“I had heard that she was opening a restaurant here, and ready for a change, I reached out to her on Instagram. I didn’t have her phone number — she’s a celebrity. But I sent her a message on Instagram, and surprisingly, she got back with me and we started chatting.”
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The two vibed so well that Thompson hired the Arlington native as the restaurant’s sous-chef. Initially, it looked as though Duchess may have been just another sous-chef gig — happy to have it, Kopplin would be. That’s how he started here a few weeks ago, watching and learning the ropes of Thompson’s food, executing her dishes with precision and flair.
But in mid-June, the restaurant announced Kopplin would take over as executive chef, while Thompson would continue on a consulting basis. Kopplin has now found himself as executive chef for one of the city’s hottest restaurants.
“It’s kind of unbelievable,” he says. “But Casey and I work really well together. We’re constantly texting and talking about new dishes. It’s a good relationship.”
For Thompson, and for diners old enough to remember her previous Fort Worth venture, the opening of Duchess surely sparks a feeling of déjà vu. Fifteen years ago, the Dallas native, riding high on the success of her appearances on the popular reality cooking competition “Top Chef,” opened the fine dining restaurant Brownstone in another then-emerging cultural hotspot, the West 7th district.
Brownstone was an immediate hit, equally admired for its handsome decor and Thompson’s farm-to-table aesthetic — at the time, still somewhat of a new culinary philosophy in Fort Worth. A year after opening, though, Thompson left the restaurant; Brownstone closed a few years later but not before it helped popularize the West 7th area.
Developed by Jeff Blackman of Bedford Lodging, The Nobleman and Duchess are cleverly integrated into the restored No. 5 Fire Station on Bryan Avenue. The station’s 114-year-old bones and original facade serve as the hotel’s core, containing guest check-in, lobby areas, and a second-floor lounge. More than 150 guest rooms wrap around the old station, along with an outdoor pool, bar, and patio dining area.
Thompson says she jumped at the chance to return to Fort Worth to head up the hotel’s in-house restaurant, which is currently open for breakfast and dinner and bar snacks.
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“Growing up in Dallas, I always kind of secretly loved Fort Worth,” she says. “It’s just so warm and welcoming, and it has this great small-town feel. When Jeff told me about the concept, how it incorporates such a beautiful old building with so much history attached to it, I knew I wanted to be a part of it.”
Thompson developed unique, playful menus that incorporate elements of both casual eats and fine dining. For dinner, there are three steak options and two house-made pastas, such as an excellent tagliatelle with beef shin ragu; an Oklahoma-style, griddled jalapeno and onion burger; and buttermilk-brined roasted hen served with cilantro sauce and chicken gravy.
One of the more inventive dishes is the Lucky Pig, a fun, sharable build-your-own tacos platter filled with sliced pork belly, pickled onions, housemade chicharrones, shredded lettuce, and freshly made flour tortillas. A bottle of house hot sauce comes on the side, along with a pile of roasted peanuts — a whimsical and welcome touch.
Appetizers include a red snapper crudo, charred eggplant and fried onion dip, fresh oysters, and beef carpaccio on hashbrowns, the latter a clever mashup of nostalgic flavors.
“I’m calling it a fresh take on Texas,” Thompson says. “It’s a little bit Texas, a little bit California, a little bit coastal. I love chasing down the best ingredients and trying to do cool, interesting things with those ingredients.”
Kopplin says that while he’s carrying out Thompson’s menu, he’ll be working on dishes of his own.
“That’s the thing about Casey — she’s got an open mind and when it comes to this restaurant and this food, we’re on the same page,” he says. “We have a lot of great things planned for this place.”
Duchess at The Nobleman Fort Worth, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, 503 Bryan Ave., hilton.com
